Advocate Deepak SP resigned as general secretary of the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare (KSCCW), after media reports about a child allegedly eating mud out of hunger showed the state in a bad light. The story had gone viral since the first reports came about a seven-year-old child in Thiruvananthapuram eating mud to satiate his hunger, and the family of six children and their mother were taken to a shelter home.
“It is true that I resigned over the incident, and the party had asked me to,” said Deepak, who is also a member of the ruling CPI(M).
The distress call about the family had come through Thanal, a child helpline project of KSCCW and Deepak and his team went to the house in Kaithamukku to inspect the situation. Deepak had then told the media that the child ate mud because he was that hungry.
“I have been led to believe that the child had indeed eaten mud because he was hungry and this is what I told the media. But then the media reports blew it up and it became a national level discussion, showing the state in a poor light. It is later I realised that it was an exaggerated version and the kid was only playfully eating mud. I gave an explanation for my action, but I should have also properly investigated the matter before talking to the media. My only intention was to protect the children,” explains Deepak.
However, this led to discussions over the poor conditions of the state. Wasn’t the child getting mid-day meals, weren’t the younger ones being taken care of by the Anganwadi worker?
Apparently, they were. The mother had later testified in front of the Child Welfare Committee that her child was only playfully eating mud like other kids his age do and that their real problem was domestic violence. The woman’s husband allegedly used to come home drunk and physically assault the children.
The CWC, after hearing their case, moved the mother and the six kids – aged seven, five, four, three, one and a half years, and three months old respectively – to the Dale View shelter home, the first domestic violence victim home in Thiruvananthapuram.
“They would continue there for a few more days till a further decision can be made,” said an official of the District Child Protection Unit.
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